There are many individuals, businesses and government agencies striving to attain mandated energy efficiency measures and reduce the pollution levels they generate. Such specialized pollution reduction creates the need for pollution crediting.
For example, new federal laws, building codes, insurance requirements and local building ordinances require all gas pipes must have energy efficiency measures installed, such as a gas filter, or suffer sanctions. Included within these energy efficiency mandates are requirements for reducing pollution, which creates new opportunities for individual pollution credits of the present invention.
Such energy efficiency measures call for the installation and use of a filter on all gas pipes and/or gas appliances. When the individual consumer installs a gas filter within their gas pipes and produces cleaner gas than was previously available, such reduced pollution has value. It""s within this gas cleaning and pollution reduction process, which is the basis for this invention that serves a need, provides benefits and has value.
Starting in 1992, Congress, in it""s infinite wisdom, began passing energy efficiency laws such as Public Law 101-614 and 101-625 for example, which call for the use of clean energy and energy efficiency measures on all buildings in the nation. And from another direction, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, passing their own clean air standards penalize local governments for non-attainment of their clean air requirements.
As a partial solution to non-attainable clean air levels, regulators have encouraged the development of xe2x80x9cpollution-credit offsetsxe2x80x9d for large industries who generate tons of air pollution each day, which the Chicago Board of Trade trades on a daily basis.
1. Field of the Invention.
The method and apparatus of the present invention relate to individual pollution credit development and contract exchanges using electronic networks between pollution credit sellers and buyers. Such method and apparatus provides pollution crediting services to Intemet-based sellers and buyers such as individuals, local governmental agencies, utilities and the like where such third parties are provided with pollution credit calculations, ratings, credit transfers, escrow accounts, holding accounts, encryption, security, electronic signature verification ,E:Mailings, and electronic funds transaction by means of an escrow holder who is electronically networked to such parites.
For example, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the escrow holder receives, documents, stores, retrieves, transfers, evaluates, calculates and protects electronically encrypted information relating to energy efficiency measures and pollution reduction claims from individuals, local government agencies, utilities and related parties.
In another embodiment of the present invention, individuals who had previously provided energy efficiency and reduced pollution information to the electronically networked escrow holder, receive a receipt for each information transaction and pollution claim in the form of an individual pollution credit (ipCredit).
In another embodiment of the present invention, because such energy efficiency measures and pollution reductions are subject to interpretation, the escrow holder evaluates such value based on the following criteria: (1) the type of utility sampled by date, location, and duration; (2) laboratory test results of each sample; (3) accurate measurement of the utility submitted; (4) the volume of tested utility being presented for credit; and, (5) the type of energy efficiency measure used to attain the reduced pollution, such value being determined by the escrow holder and is called xe2x80x9cindividual pollution credit (ipCredit)xe2x80x9d.
Another embodiment of the present invention, provides a method for an electronically networked escrow holder to transfer the ipCredit, where the former relies upon the information provided by the various parties for accuracy, authenticity, honesty and timeliness.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a business method and apparatus is provided that controls the ipCredit without any of the credit owners feeling poorer for the service, because the owner controls the destiny of his credits.
Another embodiment of the present invention, provides a method and apparatus, whereby once the ipCredit is generated via the electronically networked escrow holder, tends to stay there, and herein lies another embodiment of this business method, the escrow holder calculating pollution credits, identifying ownership, maintaining authority and control over how they are used, in concert with the credit owner. The escrow holder issues credits, provides transfers and depository accounts for ipCredits while providing such escrow services for a fee.
2. Background of the Invention
A portion of the material set forth herein is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by any one of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
With the majority of air pollution being produced by individuals, trading in pollution credit offsets is not available to the individual, as is commonly found in industry.
What is needed, is a method that; (1) establishes pollution credit for the individual; (2) provides the means for ascertaining what pollutant is eligible for credit; (3) determines what methods may be used to qualify for claiming a pollution credit; (4) ascribes a value to that pollution credit; (5) determines who wants pollution credits; (6) creates a disinterested third-party judge who can evaluate and ascribe a value for individual pollution credit; (7) determines if there a market that will place a value, in a timely manner to make this method feasible; and (8) determines if there a method and apparatus readily available where individuals can interact with from any location, any time of day or night, in privacy and with security while transacting their pollution credit activities.
For a better understanding of the term xe2x80x9cProperty rightsxe2x80x9d reference is made to the following: The Law of Property Rights Protection by Jan G. Laitos, Published 1999, Aspen Law and Business ISBN 0-07-3550152-1
The simplest definition of property is one which refers to a tangible thing. Such property typically has physical characteristics and dimensions. It would include both natural resourcesxe2x80x94land, water, trees, minerals, as well as developed resourcesxe2x80x94houses, cars, diamond rings.
Property may also be present when the thing has no physical existence, but is instead an intangible legal interest. For constitutional law purposes, the United States Supreme Court and lower courts have found the term xe2x80x9cpropertyxe2x80x9d sufficiently comprehensive to include an array of intangible interests that (1) may be owned or (2) have value, even though they are not necessarily considered property at common law. These decisions establish that property may exist in a contract. A variety of liens and unsecured claims are considered property deserving a constitutional protection. There may be property in certain private party relationships with private parties, such as with a mortgage, a trade-secret, or a name. There may be property in private party relationships with government, such as when a party has obtained a franchise, or a certain type of license, as well as a government-supplied service. There may also be property in the monetary interest generated from a fund into which a private individual has paid money.
Another definition of property refers to the set of legal rules governing the relationship between persons with regard to the xe2x80x9cthingsxe2x80x9d in the external world. As noted above, these things can be tangible physical property (e.g., land, water, boats, jewelry) or intangible interests (e.g., corporate stock, liens, and government benefits). Under this definition, the property subject to constitutional protection is not the thing with respect to which a person-owner asserts a constitutional defense. Rather, property is the group of rights inhering in the person""s relation to the thing.
When property is not the thing itself, but the owner""s legal powers over the thing, it is perceived as a bundle of rights. These rights are good against all other people, and they are protected by the Constitution if the government takes, or unreasonably interferes with them. The bundle of rights idea means that each xe2x80x9cstickxe2x80x9d in the bundle is distinct. The primary rights held by owners are (1) the right to possess, (2) the right to use, (3) the right to manage, (4) the right to the income (the benefits derived from foregoing personal use of a thing and allowing others to use it), (5) the right to the capital (the right to modify or consume it), (6) the right of alienation, (7) the right of transmissibility (the power to devise or bequeath it), and (8) the right to security (immunity from expropriation without compensation.
These rights, particularly the right to use property, are limited by the common law doctrine of sic utere tuo, ut alienum non laedas (use your property so as not to harm another""s). The Supreme Court has recently recast the sic utere doctrine, transforming it from a limit on property rights, to a redefinition of what is in the original bundle of rights.
The bundle of sticks model for property was widely adopted throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It allowed the Supreme Court to invalidate government actions which interfered with a particular legal right, but not government action that interfered with the physical property. For example, in determining that a statutes took xe2x80x9cpropertyxe2x80x9d from a holder of a mortgage, the Court identified the relevant property not as the mortgage, but as the right to retain a lien until the indebtedness secured by it is paid. In declaring unconstitutional a state statute that prohibited coal mining which would cause surface subsidence, the Court decided that the applicable property for Takings Clause purposes was not the coal, but the right to mine the support coal. When the Court decided that application of a zoning law had deprived an owner of property under the Due Process Clause, the relevant xe2x80x9cpropertyxe2x80x9d was not the land, but the owner""s right to make practical use of the land, with an adequate return in investment. This rights-driven conception of property was similarly adopted by the first Restatement of Property, . . . which we need not go into here.
Starting with people who use gas everyday, and filter it before burning, is another basis of the present invention, which requires that gas be sampled, the amount of xe2x80x9cbannedxe2x80x9d chemicals tested and tabulated, with the volume of gas being tested and measured in an acceptable manner, and when these steps are combined, a third-party escrow holder determines the amount of pollution being reduced and calculates an appropriate value for the individual.
Proprietary gas pipe sampling technologies described elsewhere, have been developed that allow the individual gas user to take appropriate samples from inside their gas pipes and/or individual gas appliances as required. These gas samples are tested for hazardous materials so the individual can determine how safe the gas is to burn indoors where people live and work, and determine the amount of pollution being reduced by the process.
Such gas testing, filtering and measurement, coupled with known amounts of gas contaminants which are periodically published by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others, may be used to determine the reduced amount of a pollution when using the methods described herein. By collecting such data, the third party escrow holder is able to ascertain the volume of pollution being reduced by the hour, day, month, etc., and calculates a value.
Such pollution reduction credits are known to have value in various markets, and like industrial pollution offset credits described elsewhere, these ipCredit amounts may be traded, collected, sold, gifted, set-aside, or retained for later use by the owner. Such reduced pollution created by one individual, may be aggregated with other individuals who similarly create pollution reduction credits in varying amounts.
It is this individual and aggregated pollution reducing method, which is another embodiment of the present invention.
In today""s economy, pollution credit offsets are openly traded by industry who either need to offset the pollution they generate, or have accumulated more credits than needed. For example, the EPA and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) encourages and supports markets for xe2x80x9cpollution-offsetxe2x80x9dcredits, where industry is allowed to xe2x80x9coffsetxe2x80x9d one pollutant for the right to produce another, without penalty during a given time period, or sell the credit, as the case may be.
The present invent and method, improves upon the current industrial pollution offsetting method. For the first time, individuals, who use polluting natural or propane gas have a method, apparatus and means for creating their own pollution credits that have value and broad market applications.
Unlike the referenced industrial pollution offsetting method, the present invention allows individuals to create their own pollution credits, by sampling, testing, filtering, and measuring their gas, and transmitting such information to an electronically networked third party escrow holder for evaluation, credit worthiness and establish a value for their pollution credit.
As the individual consumer reduces air pollution caused by burning contaminated gas, and supported by gas sampling and testing technologies which measures the amount of pollution being reduced, and where such methods allow the individual to accumulate ipCredit which they can, in turn, sell, barter, accumulate, retire, gift, set aside, or invest on an ongoing basis.
How are pollution credits possible? The present invention describes how individual pollution credits are developed, as follows: (1) because the individual is held responsible for using contaminated gas in their operation; and (2) because the individual is responsible for installing energy efficiency measures on their gas pipes; and (3) because the individual is responsible for testing their gas for its contamination levels before burning; and (4) because the individual is required to sample their gas; and (5) because the individual has the gas samples tested to verify its contents; and (6) because the individual has energy efficiency measured installed at their expense to filter-clean their gas; and (7) because the individual properly disposes of the collected gas waste; and (8) because the individual measures the volume of gas being treated and tested; therefore (9) the individual can make a claim for the amount of reduced pollution they achieve; and (10) the individual electronically conveys such information to a third-party escrow holder; and (11) the individual collects pollution credits from the Internet-based electronically networked third-party escrow holder, and does with them as he wishes.
As citizens collectively reduce their natural gas pollution and depending on the desirability of local government agencies to cooperate with its citizenry, some portion of the individual pollution credits may be invested, bartered, gifted, or set-aside to benefit the community by the individual ipCredit owner.
Such beneficial activity by the individual allows a local government to offset, and/or counter-balance air pollution restrictions imposed by Federal and State laws regarding: (1) smog production; (2) acid rain production; (3) greenhouse gas production; (4) ozone depletion; and, (5) pollution which causes global warming. Such beneficial cooperation allows local governments to continue, or renew their participation in Federal and State programs and retain their funding by offsetting and/or counter-balancing clean air and pollution measures where applicable.
Many of the benefits available to individuals, government agencies, utilities and related parties using the present invention are mentioned above. In addition, there are the following benefits, where applicable:
One embodiment allows for personal tax credits for the individual when installing and operating energy efficiency measures associated with ipCredits. Examples: seismic and surge shut-off means, filters, leak detectors, automated controllers and, leak-proof valves.
Another embodiment allows for personal tax credits when pollution reducing measures are installed and operational; known as abatement measures associated with ipCredits.
Another embodiment of the present invention, provides for certain tax credits when reducing and/or eliminating certain hazardous and/or toxic chemicals form entering the outdoor air associated with ipCredits.
Another embodiment of the present invention, allows for tax credits when an individual reduces and/or eliminates certain hazardous and/or toxic chemicals form entering the indoor air, such as workplaces associated with ipCredits.
Another embodiment of the present invention, allows for certain tax credits for reducing and/or eliminating certain hazardous and/or toxic chemicals form entering drinking water sources and watersheds associated with ipCredits.
Another embodiment of the present invention, allows building liability insurance rate enhancements associated with the installation and use of energy efficiency compliance equipment associated with ipCredits.
Another embodiment of the present invention, allows building fire insurance rate enhancements associated with the installation and use of energy efficiency compliance equipment associated with ipCredits.
Another embodiment of the present invention, allows for worker compensation insurance rate enhancements related to the use of energy efficiency compliance measures and air pollution reduction methods associated with ipCredits.
Another embodiment of the present invention, allows for health insurance policy rate enhancements related to the use of energy efficiency compliance measures and indoor air pollution reduction methods associated with ipCredits.
Another embodiment of the present invention, allows for utility rebates related to energy efficiency compliance measures associated with ipCredits.
Other embodiments the present invention provides, include, but are not limited to the following forms of physical and/or crediting instruments, such as: coupons, incentives, plans, special fees, discounts, rain-checks, vouchers, cash, checks, certificates, gifts, prizes, awards, rate reductions, rebates, set-asides, offsets, credits, deferred payment, and other such methods typically used in trade and commerce.
The following xe2x80x9cPollution Credit Rating Methodxe2x80x9d is a combination of several methods contained in the present invention and preferably uses combinations of the following:
(1) Public Laws, such as 101-614, 101-625; (2) building codes from the National Fire Protection AssociationÕs Standard 80; (3) portions of CaliforniaÕs Proposition 65 pollution prevention law; (4) OSHA""s workplace regulations and a host of other codes, laws and regulations, combined with the installation and use of the following energy efficiency measures make up the basis of the Pollution Credit Rating Method employed herein, which include, but are not limited to:
a. Seismic protective measures and seismic gas shut off valves;
b. Gas surge shut off valves;
c. Insitu gas pipe filter and gas appliance filters,.
d. Annual gas valve leak testing as required,
e. Reduction and/or elimination of methane gas leakage,
f. Elimination of continuous burning gas pilot lights,
g. Reduction and/or elimination of Particulate Matter,
h. Reduction and/or elimination of Sulfur Dioxide(SO2),
i. Reduction and/or elimination of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx),
j. Reduction and/or elimination of Carbon Monoxide (CO),
k. Reduction and/or elimination of Total Organic Compounds (TOCs),
l. Reduction and/or elimination of Hydrochloric Acid aerosols,.
m. Reduction and/or elimination of Sulfuric Acid aerosols,
n. Reduction and/or elimination of Radon Gas,
o. Reduction and/or elimination of PCBs,
p. Reduction and/or elimination of DIOXINS.
q. Reduction and/or elimination of FURANS,
In addition, the following natural gas pollution factors are incorporated in the present invention, which were obtained from the EPA-AP42 publication for boilers and furnaces with input of less than 10 million Btu per hour. The factors represent the weight of a pollutant for each million cubic ft (MMCF) of natural gas input to the process.
Which means the typical home burning 275 cubic ft of gas a month produces:
California Gas Statistics
Pipeline and Gas Journal November 1997 pg. 50
The 300 Leading Gas Distribution Utilities
For example: the nation""s largest public utility Pacific Gas and Electric, located in San Francisco, having 3,677,000 home gas customers, discharges 141,700 lbs. of hazardous waste each month into Northern California""s indoor and outdoor air, not including PCBs, DIOXINS, FURANS, Radon or Acid aerosols.
Further, California gas utilities 9,340,234 gas customers produce an estimated 357,722 lbs. of hazardous waste each month. Actually these figures only reflect half of the natural gas sold by the utilities, the other half of the market is commercial, industrial and electric generation and is not included. Natural gas statistics only report residential gas volumes. More accurately, one can estimate California gas utilities dump 715,444 lbs of hazardous waste into the air every month.
The xe2x80x9cGas Facts Handbookxe2x80x9d published by the American Gas Association, reports that 1,450 quadrillion cubic ft of gas was sold in the U.S. in 1993. Quadrillion (as in million)xe2x80x94quadrillion is 1 followed by 24 zeros, viz., 1,450,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 cubic ft of gas
Therefore 1,450,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 cubic ft of gas is burned in the United States every year.
MEANING, 290,000,000,000,000,000 tons of hazardous waste spew into the indoor and outdoor air every year.
Natural gas is one of the major contributors of acid rain, smog production, ozone depletion, greenhouse gas production and global warming and any improvement will be a benefit.
The following xe2x80x9cEnergy Efficiency Credit Rating Methodxe2x80x9d is a combination of several methods contained within the present invention and preferably uses, in addition to the aforementioned methods of the xe2x80x9cEnergy Efficiency Credit Rating Methodxe2x80x9d,the volume of gas measured in cubic ft, and the amount of reduced pollutant, measured by weight in pounds (16 ounces), are included.
As more individuals determine the amount of contamination they can band together and bring their findings to local government officials to demand necessary changes be instituted immediately, as prescribed by various Public Laws: Public Law 101-625, 104 Stat. 4079xe2x80x94to make recommendation on financing energy efficiency in private mortgages, through the policies of Federal agencies and federally chartered financial institutions, mortgage bankers, home builders, real estate brokers, private mortgage insurers, energy suppliers, and nonprofit housing and energy organizations. The task force shall include individuals representing the Federal Housing Administration mortgage . . .
SEC. 203. xe2x80x9c42 USC 12722xe2x80x9d PURPOSES.xe2x80x94purposes of this title arexe2x80x94(1) to expand the supply of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing, with primary attention to rental housing, for very low-income and low-income Americans; (2) to mobilize and s strengthen the abilities of States and units of general local government throughout the United States to design and implement strategies for achieving an adequate supply of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing; . . . (8) to increase the investment of private capital and the use of private sector resources in the provision of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing . . .
Public Law 101-614, 104 Stat. 3231 An act to authorize appropriations for the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SHORT TITLE SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the xe2x80x9cNational Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act,xe2x80x9d 42 USC 7701.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for prospective individual utility consumers (xe2x80x9csellerxe2x80x9d), claiming individual pollution credit (xe2x80x9cipCreditxe2x80x9d), while seeking various buyers (xe2x80x9cbuyerxe2x80x9d), with the aid of a third party escrow holder to evaluate their energy efficiency measures and pollution reduction activities to be converted into a form of conditional pollution reduction credit (xe2x80x9cCPRCxe2x80x9d), which creates value and a global market. In some situations, for example, the seller of an ipCredits may not be related to government requirements, while in others, they might provide an important part of a governmental operations.
Additionally, the present invention can effectuate performance of an agreement between seller and buyer to trade, invest, barter, credit, gift, collect, sell, transfer, exchange, offset, counter-balance, and/or set-aside such ipCredit among one and another. The present invention is therefore an effective multi-level, bilateral system of commerce for individual pollution credit, which provides the seller with the ability to create ipCredits and comply with energy efficiency and pollution reduction laws, while helping a buyer meet their Federal and State clean air requirements.
For example, California""s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly referred to as Proposition 65, requires businesses using natural gas in their operations to post public warning placards. For example, OSHA recently adopted California""s Proposition 65 to protect workers across the nation. For example, energy efficiency measures must be installed as per Public Law 101-625; this Act xe2x80x9c42 USC 12701xe2x80x9d may be cited as the xe2x80x9cCranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act.xe2x80x9d For example, seismic gas shut off requirements are required under Public Law 101-614; this Act may be cited as the xe2x80x9cNational Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9c42 USC 7701xe2x80x9d. For example, gas surge shut off requirements are codified by the Department of Transportation (DOT, and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 80 building codes issued in 1996, which includes these requirements. It is from within these laws that individual pollution credits, may be claimed by the individual utility consumer.
For example, government agencies both large and small across the nation face clean air demands from EPA, which enforces the Clean Air Act Amendment, the Smog Reduction Act, the Acid Rain Reduction Act, the Ozone Protection Act, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Amendment, and the Kyoto Global Warming Reduction protocols. Local governments are being penalized for non-attainment of their Smog levels, etc., by loss of Federal funds, loss of access to any future Federal funds, loss of participation in any future Federal programs, etc.
In one embodiment, communications between seller and buyer is conducted using an electronic network and central controller. A seller who wishes to be provided with pollution reduction credits, accesses the central controller located at a remote server. The program within the central controller allows the seller to claim a conditional pollution reduction credit (xe2x80x9cCPRCxe2x80x9d) by; (1) specifying the basis of the energy efficiency method employed; (2) the type of pollutant being reduced; (3) testing results (before and after filtration values by amounts versus the time duration for each); (4) whether a CPRC, or a combination of CPRCs is being offered; and (5) any other conditions required. For example, a typical CPRC could specify that the seller used a required energy efficiency gas filter to reduce Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) levels, which qualifies him for ipCredit and he wants to register the credits and deposit them in his personal account within the central controller.
The seller attaches a user identification to the CPRC and transmits the CPRC to the central controller. Within the present invention, the CPRC may be transmitted via numerous means including a Internet electronic interface, electronic mail, voice mail, facsimile, or postal mail. Standard legal provisions and language are then integrated with the CPRC to effectuate an ipCredit and/or Credit contract by the buyer. Alternatively, the CPRC may be electronically developed while the buyer is on-line with the central controller.
Before communicating the CPRC to a potential buyer, the program of the central controller authenticates the buyers identification number against a buyer database. The central controller may require the buyer provide a credit card number and may also ensure that the buyer has sufficient credit available to cover the cost of filing an CPRC by contacting the credit card clearinghouse. The central controller then assigns a unique tracking number to the CPRC and globally displays the CPRC in a manner such that it is available to be viewed by any potential seller, if the buyer so desires.
CPRCs may be displayed by subject category to make it easier for potential buyers to identify relevant CPRCs. Thus a buyer could log onto a Website, for example, and see a listing of CPRC subject categories. The buyer could then choose a particular subject and have the ability to browse CPRCs which correspond to that subject category. In one embodiment, the buyer may be required to provide qualifications in order to view the CPRCs of a given category.
If, after reviewing a particular CPRC, a potential buyer wishes to accept the CPRC, the buyer communicates their intent to the program within the central controller. The central controller then time-stamps the message from the buyer and authenticates the identity of the buyer and the buyerÕs capacity to respond to the requirements of the seller. The system then verifies that the particular CPRC is still active and capable of being accepted. If a CPRC is capable of being accepted by only one buyer, it is completed when the first qualified buyer accepts it. Subsequent buyers will not be able to accept a completed CPRC. If a buyer accepts an active CPRC, a unique tracking number is assigned to the buyer indicating acceptance. The acceptance is then stored in a xe2x80x9caccepted CPRCxe2x80x9d database. The buyer and seller are now related parties to a legally binding contract.
In another embodiment, the program in the central controller manages the payment transferal system between the seller, the buyer and electronic hosting system automatically. Various methods of payment may be utilized by the invention, including credit cards, personal checks, electronic funds transfer, debit cards, smart cards, digital checks, and digital cash. The payment system may also involve the use of an escrow account associated with the seller or buyer wherein finds advanced by the seller or buyer cover the work related to filing an ipCredits which can be kept pending acceptance by a qualified buyer. Additionally, the timing of payment to the seller can be varied. The seller can be paid immediately after accepting a CPRC or payment can be delayed until after the seller or buyer performs their obligations under the contract.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a buyer is given the option to respond to a CPRC by issuing a binding xe2x80x9ccounter-offerxe2x80x9d with conditions different from the original CPRC. The buyer transmits the counteroffer to the central controller which then forwards the counteroffer to the seller. The seller is then given the option of accepting the counter-offer and thereby binding the buyer to a contract.
The present invention can also be practiced in off-line embodiments. Instead of using electronic mail or Web-based servers, seller and buyer may communicate with the program of the central controller via telephone, facsimile, post mail or other off-line methods. For example, seller and buyer may use telephones to create CPRCs, with or without the assistance of a live agent and seller and buyer wishing to enter their energy efficiency and pollution reducing claims may use a telephone to also browse and/or bind CPRCs as the case may be.
In another embodiment, cryptographic protocols are used to authenticate the identity of the seller and buyer and verify the integrity of the seller and buyer communications with the central controller. Using cryptography and biometrics, the central controller can make it significantly more difficult for unauthorized persons to tamper with the system by passing themselves off as legitimate seller and buyer or eavesdropping on system communications.
Anonymity is another advantage of the present invention. For numerous privacy and competitive reasons sellers and buyers prefer not to have their identities revealed to the general public when engaging in energy efficiency and pollution credit transactions. The present invention effectuates the anonymity of seller and buyer through the use of identification numbers stored in a seller and buyer database secured by the central controller.
In one embodiment, the program of the present invention divides the functionality of the central controller into four components and embodies them in four servers: (1) an operations server; (2) a trusted server; (3) a ipCredits calculator; and (4) a bonding agent. The trusted server authenticates the identity of the seller and buyer while the bonding agent verifies their ability to pay the Web-based servers for services rendered. The ipCredits calculator develops the credit worthiness of individual pollution credit claims and assigns each of them a value based on certain criteria. The operations server posts the CPRC, relying upon messages from the other three servers for validation. This configuration allows for greater specialization of the servers.
Finally, an embodiment of the present invention includes a mechanism for resolving disputes between seller and buyer arising out of agreements consummated while using the system. The related parties may be required in CPRCs to stipulate to binding arbitration and may be assisted in the arbitration process by the central controller. The central controller may serve as an arbitrator or may refer the dispute to a third-party arbitrator for resolution.
What the present invention accomplishes, which no previous system has ever done before, is to empower the individual utility consumer in such a manner that allows the individual to be in control of their ipCredits, while using a third-party arbitrator.
Attached to the each CPRC are details describing what the seller and buyer must agree to in order for the ipCredit to enter the market place as a CPRC. There is no uncertainty or waste of time on the part of the seller. He knows that if he meets the conditions set forth by the regulations for reducing pollution levels, he can immediately close the claim for credit and be compensated for it once the buyer binds.
The invention also allows the buyer to reach a larger number of pollution credit sellers who normally would not be able to find one and another, but who my be able to provide the buyer with the exact ipCredit the buyer requires. For instance, this might be the case for a natural gas consumer (seller), who can define the energy efficiency measures used to reduce a variety of natural gas pollutants by a certain value and wagers those pollution credits on the open market, for all potential buyers.
In one embodiment of this invention, the individual ipCredits owner may trade, credit, invest, gift, collect, sell, transfer, exchange, offset, and/or set-aside his pollution credits with a potential buyer. The present invention allows such a seller to issue a binding ipCredit offer which is globally communicated to potential buyers. Any one of these buyers could then decide whether or not to accept the pollution credit offer. The seller""s advantage is particularly significant when pollution credits sought by buyers are impossible to come by and potentially, the seller will find buyers who need to offset or counter-balance their clean air requirements while providing seller with the desired reward.
It is a goal of the present invention to provide a robust system which matches banned pollution chemicals, with seller ipCredits, which can be used by buyers to satisfy their pollution offsetting needs. The invention provides a global, bilateral, pollution credit system for creating binding contracts incorporating various methods of communication, commerce and security for buyer and seller. The power of a central controller to field binding offers from buyers, communicate those offers globally in a format which can be efficiently accessed and analyzed by potential sellers, effectuate performance of resulting pollution credit contracts, resolve disputes arising from such contracts, and maintain billing, collection, authentication and anonymity, which makes the present invention an improvement over the non-existence of such methods.